A lot (well, a significant minority) of GSDs are people-shy. And a people-shy GSD doesn't really have the temper of a GSD. I've had 3.

And a shy/sharp GSD can be a real liability.

I don't know what your needs or expectations are, but the good news is that there is enough genetic diversity in the GSD to have a reasonable shot at acquiring the dog you want. The bad news is that you'll have to wade through hundreds and hundreds of animals to find him.

actually not too sure, this is gonna be retarded but ill be migrating to new zealand in a few years time (hopefully). im hoping to find a nice apartment to live in, ill be looking for a small dog for that. but if i have to move into a landed property, i really want to get a german shepherd

actually not too sure, this is gonna be retarded but ill be migrating to new zealand in a few years time (hopefully). im hoping to find a nice apartment to live in, ill be looking for a small dog for that. but if i have to move into a landed property, i really want to get a german shepherd

Okay. There may be a quarantine law in NZ, so you have to consider that if you're bringing a dog

However, if you like the GSD I would spend some time visiting breeders and Schutzhund events to get a better idea of what you realistically can expect and handle.

If you are anywhere near Lansing MI, I would send you over to Cheryl Carlson who will give you the straight skinny on her dogs. They seem to be what you're after.

Aren't a lot of GSDs from Schutzhund/performance bloodlines way too much dog for most owners?

I once helped place a shep that was just terrorizing the family that "owned" him, he was so dominant to them. Interestingly, when my friend, a burly former Marine DI, came to pick him up, the dog recognized a more dominant being and turned and ran! He was placed with a man who lived right on the Mexican border and wanted a property guardian to deter the illegals who had been crossing his land. However, he was eventually returned to the trainer because he would redirect and bite his owner when excited. When I met the dog, which was after that, he seemed fairly tractable to me.

A lot of GSDs come across (to me, anyway) as hysterically aggressive. There was one that would just go insane with hysterical rage whenever my Tosa Dempsey and I passed her yard. One neighbor expressed a wish that Dempsey would kill the GSD, that dog was such a terror. However, Dempsey would totally ignore the GSD, much to my surprise. I later learned that she was a bitch, which explains Dempsey's indifference to her carryings-on.

Aren't a lot of GSDs from Schutzhund/performance bloodlines way too much dog for most owners?

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Yes.

But it would be nearly impossible for the fellow to access a serious working GSD, so I'm not too concerned with potential problems. And I'd rather him go to a few protection events where dogs are working under control. Better that than meeting a pet breeder who tells him that his dogs are sweethearts and 11 months later the fellow has an out of control 95 lb. GSD with the potential to inflict real damage.

Along those lines, this dog was sold a few times for being out of control until he landed in the hands of a decent trainer.

I think the history of the major GSD bloodlines is an interesting story in how it relates to Europe's history over the past 100 years.

An interesting quote from von Stephanitz:

"The shepherd dog is a working dog; he was born so, and only as such can he remain a 'shepherd dog'; the dog which we value and love. His abundance of joy in life must be used and he must be allowed to work even when kept by an amateur."

I think the history of the major GSD bloodlines is an interesting story in how it relates to Europe's history over the past 100 years. An interesting quote from von Stephanitz: "The shepherd dog is a working dog; he was born so, and only as such can he remain a 'shepherd dog'; the dog which we value and love. His abundance of joy in life must be used and he must be allowed to work even when kept by an amateur."

Hard to argue with this guy: It would be interesting to see the state of dogs in the US if the governing breed clubs/AKC demanded that they pass a breed suitability test and a thorough physical examination before they can be registered or bred. Another fellow worth reading about is Col. E. H. Richardson: http://community-2.webtv.net/Hahn-50...9/K9History13/ Love to find a few copies of his books. lefty

This is making the rounds of a few dog boards: http://msunderestimated.com/2009/04/...n-texas-video/http://www.glennbeck.com/content/art...98/23658/?ck=1 CALLER: Hey, Glenn, thanks for taking my call. I just wanted to know, Friday you asked us to pray for Marcus and I was just seeing if you had an update today on what's going on with him. GLENN: Yes, I do. Yes, I do. Marcus Luttrell is the lone survivor. He was part of the SEAL team. It was the biggest battle any SEAL in SEAL history. He was the only survivor. He lost his whole team. He was then taken by Al Qaeda and the Taliban and he was tortured beyond your wildest imagination and there they held him for a while. He's been sick. He still hasn't recovered from all of the things that they did to him and so he just has he's always in for his back and surgery and everything else. On Thursday I believe it was, Wednesday or Thursday about 1:00 a.m., Marcus is a guy who doesn't sleep anymore at night. He sleeps during the daytime. And about 1:00 he happened to be awake and he heard a gunshot. He lives on a ranch with his mother in Texas. He grabs his gun and he goes outside. There he sees, I believe it was four. It may be three but I believe it was four young men 18 to 24 years old, all of them, where they had just shot his dog. Marcus' dog is named Dasy. Each letter represents D A S Y represents one of the fallen members of his team. It was given to him in recovery to help him through the recovery process. This dog means everything to Marcus. Marcus had his gun and he took it out and he put it right between the eyes of one of the guys. He was standing away from them, pointed right between the eyes. Now, here's a SEAL team member who is wildly, he's just, he is having trouble, man. He is still recovering from his injuries. He had just gotten out of surgery. He's standing there with a gun between the guy's eyes. He doesn't fire. All four and he's just saying, "You killed my dog." They executed his dog. "You killed my dog. Why would you do that?" They run. They get into his car. Marcus gets into his truck, chases them over four counties, finally runs them into a ditch. He calls the Rangers. The Texas Rangers arrive and these guys, when the Texas Rangers are taking these guys away, Marcus has held them there by a gun. As the Rangers are taking these guys away, they're threatening Marcus' life and saying, "When we get out, we're coming for you next. First it was your dog. It's going to be you next. You don't know who you're messin' with." That's when Marcus kind of snapped just a little bit and said to the Ranger, "Excuse me, ranger, do you know who I am?" He said, "Yes, sir, Mr. Luttrell, I do." He said, "You might want to explain to these punks because I could have killed them 600 different ways and if I wanted to kill you guys after what you would have done what you just did to my dog, I would have pulled you down into my basement and I would have tortured you for days and you wouldn't have died until you begged me for death. So before you start saying you're going to come after me, you better learn who you've just whose dog you just killed." They get into jail. These four punks have been killing dogs in Marcus' county now for a month, for joys, joy rides and kicks. Tonight Marcus is going to be on television and he's going to tell the story, and I'm showing the pictures of these dirtbags. And I want you to call PETA, I want you to call every activist you know. I want you to hear the story of a hero whose dog was executed. In all of the times that everybody is saying, oh, guns gotta be taken off the streets, you gun nuts. Here's a responsible gun owner that with everything he's gone through, everything that that dog means, these dirtbags come and kill his dog. He could have killed them all. He probably would have enjoyed it, justifiably so and he didn't because he's an American hero. Keep him in your prayers. lefty P.S. apologies for only finding the link via that ass-monkey Beck.

In New York this weekend some guy was driving a Jeep and his bulldog was in the passenger seat. The dog was sitting in the seat exactly like a human, somehow, with his paw hanging out the window. He was people watching.